Sad, Beautiful, Tragic

Alex laid in bed restlessly after taking Madison home and making sure she was okay. He couldn’t wait for her mom and brother to get back from their college tours; he hated knowing she was alone in her house when she was so ill. He let out a groan as he turned onto his right side, he had been tossing and turning for at least two hours and sleep still felt so far away from him. He blindly searched around his nightstand for the switch of the bedside lamp, his fingers turning it until the dim orange light silhouetted his room.

He sat up, the blanket pooling around his boxer clad waist as he rummaged through the nightstand drawer to find the rumpled up piece of paper that held all of Madison’s wishes. He couldn’t stop thinking about how her time was running out and there was so much on the list that he hadn't helped her do yet. He grabbed a blue sharpie from the drawer and marked off “go to the town fair—“before he skimmed through the rest of the list mentally make a note of the things he could definitely, without a doubt do.

Pet a tiger
Go on a road trip
Go to Disney World
Go to an aquarium—with sharks
Have an 80’s movie-esque relationship (total cheese factor a must)
Go to a party

Alex’s mind ran rampant as the perfect idea settled into his brain; all he would need to do was talk to his parents. His mom first, she would definitely say yes before his dad and his dad would be more likely to just go along with his mom. He shoved the pen and paper back into the drawer and crawled back under his blanket, his mind suddenly at ease and his eyes drooping with the need for sleep.

Eight hours later Madison woke up to find a stuffed tiger on her pillow. She groggily wiped at her eyes, whisking the remains of sleep away before picking up the orange striped toy and inspecting it. She turned it over a few times, unsure of what she was even looking for before she sat it back down. She swung her legs to the edge of the bed, her back arching as she stretched before standing up.

“Mom?” She called out from the top of the stairs, “Nate…?” she called as she made her way to the kitchen. Madison’s calls were answered with only the stillness of the house only being interrupted by her rustling through the cabinets in search of her medications. With eight orange bottles laid out in a perfect line on the counter, and a corresponding pill sat in front of each bottle, Madison filled a glass with water and proceeded to slip a pill in her mouth, gulp, swallow and repeat.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to just take a few at a time?” A melodic voice flowed from across the room. Madison jumped, her hands immediately reaching up to cradle her chest where her hurt was rapidly beating and the glass she held was free-falling to the floor where it shattered.

“Shit, sorry…I didn’t mean to scare you.” Alex sheepishly walked towards her, picking up the larger pieces of glass and tossing them in the trash before coming back to lift her over the mess and onto glass free floor.

“How’d you even get in, you asshat?” Madison flicked his nose as Alex sat her down on the opposite side of the kitchen.

“Everyone knows you guys leave the spare key in a film canister under the fourth flower pot…” Alex trailed off into the hallway closet where he retrieved a broom and dustpan. “And your mom gave me the security code to shut the alarm off when I called her this morning” he explained as he swept the remaining glass shards into the dustpan and emptied it into the trash can.
“You called my mom…?” Madison questioned dubiously

“Mmhmm” Alex pulled her body into his, wrapping his arms around her waist “she says she loves you and to make sure you’re taking you medicine and that you’re brushing your teeth”
Madison rolled her eyes “she’s such a mom” she huffed out into Alex’s chest which rumbled with laughter.

“Now” Alex pulled out of the hug and instead placed his hands on Madison’s shoulders “you need to pack a bag for a week and get dressed and then meet me back down here. I will have coffee and a good morning kiss waiting for you.” Alex said, pushing Madison back up towards the stairs without further explanation.

Madison huffed and rolled her eyes for the second time in fifteen minutes but did as she was told. She had learned early on that it was completely pointless to question Alex once his mind was set on something. Though that didn’t stop her from hesitantly packing a weeks’ worth of clothes in the suitcase she pulled from her mom’s closet. She wasn’t exactly sure where she stood with Alex, they were constantly back and forth with each other and she wasn’t sure going wherever with him for a whole week was the greatest plan.

However, as she tugged the suitcase downstairs and the familiar smell of coffee beans filled her nostrils she felt perfectly content with trusting the brown haired boy. As promised she was greeted at the bottom of the stairs with a travel mug of coffee and a lingering kiss on the lips before she was being pulled outside, her suitcase dragging on the ground behind her.

Alex opened the car door for her, ushering her in as he took her suitcase to the back of the car and tucked it away into the trunk where is own suitcase was nestled. He was honestly surprised at how smoothly his plan was pulling together. He didn’t think his parents would ever agree to let their sixteen year old son go on an elaborate road trip to a state fifteen hours away just to make some girl happy. His dad hadn’t exactly been supportive of the idea at first but his mom worked her magic and within an hour his dad had handed him the keys to the family car along with a handful of cash for emergencies.

With a smile on his face he pulled himself into the driver’s seat, buckled his seat belt and wordlessly turned the key in the ignition, more than ready to start what he thought would be his favorite memory of the summer, perhaps even his life. He only hoped it would be Madison’s favorite memory too.